


Synopsis: Methos

by dairesfanficrefuge_archivist



Category: Highlander: The Series
Genre: Meta, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-12-31
Updated: 2003-12-31
Packaged: 2018-12-18 07:01:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11869059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist/pseuds/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist
Summary: Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived atDaire's Fanfic Refuge. Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onDaire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile.





	Synopsis: Methos

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Daire's Fanfic Refuge](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Daire%27s_Fanfic_Refuge). Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Daire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/dairesfanficrefuge/profile).

Methos

**METHOS**

We finally meet the 'old guy,' and an appealing old fellow he is. Not quite a curmudgeon but full of witticisms, wisdom-as well as beer at times. He _does_ have (someone said), the best lines, _AND_ the best sweaters. 

Kalas is leery of confronting MacLeod again and seeks a Highlander insurance policy. He embarks on a search for the oldest Immortal, assuming that Methos' Quickening will make him (Kalas) unstoppable. 

By learning the origin of the famous, controversial neck scar, we come to understand the profound depth of the loathing that Kalas feels for MacLeod. Mac took away _everything_ Kalas cared about-first his life in the monastery, then his angelic voice. 

Now Kalas will return the favor. 

MacLeod did not fully appreciate what he did to Kalas until their confrontation in Vanderbilt Hall. ' _Why?_ ' Mac asked, as Kalas impaled him. Kalas bared his throat, 'For _this!_ ' 

Richie is the focus of a secondary story arc here. He devotes his youthful enthusiasm to winning motorcycle races. Does this digression serve to contrast MacLeod's _serious_ good vs. evil combat against Richie's more _trivial_ battles? Mac had his youthful flings as well. So did Methos. Boys will be boys. (As Duncan says in a later episode.) 

On the other hand, perhaps this shows the contrast among different friendships. The bikers were supposed to be friends but they would cut each other's throats to win. Joe and Mac are becoming good friends. Methos and Mac are beginning their strange friendship. 

Kalas, of course, has no friends. He killed them all. 

**_New Characters:_**

**METHOS/ADAM PIERSON** \- Over five thousand years old, still ticking and kicking, having eluded the Watcher scrutiny by pretending to be one of them, under an alter ego. So far, it's worked. 

**MARIA CAMPOLO** \- budding opera singer circa 1920. Mac escorts her to a concert at the home of virtuoso Antonio Neri, who is...guess who? 

**DON SALZER** \- Watcher VIP, runs the Paris branch of the bookshop, 'Shakespeare and Company. 

**ROGER HARRIS** \- Kalas' Watcher. 

**MARC SARACEN** \- Owns The Saracens, a top motorcycle team. 

**PHILLIPE** \- Saracen racer, past his prime. 

**BASIL DORNIN** \- ambitious racer, presently number one on the team. 

* * *

**'Judge not according to the appearance.'  
New Testament, John 7:24 **

'O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.'   
Sir Walter Scott 

Outside Club Nosferatu 

It is cold, dark, and still-   
As Kalas comes out,   
Impeccably dressed,   
He stops, looks about.   
Someone is watching,   
Kalas wants to know why,   
So he sets up a trap-   
To waylay the guy. 

Kalas' Apartment, Later 

Poor Roger! He's now-   
In Kalas' power.   
About to embark-   
On his last painful hour.   
The probes Kalas uses-   
Charged with electricity-   
Soon have Roger speaking-   
With great specificity. 

'Who _ARE_ you...and why-   
Are you following me?'   
'I am your _Watcher_....'   
Roger gulps nervously.   
'Whom do you watch?   
Do you watch ALL of us?   
Fitzcairn? MacLeod?'   
His voice rasps...'Methos?' 

MacLeod's Car 

'You got trouble, Mac.'   
It is Joe on the phone.   
'A Watcher is missing-   
And he wasn't alone.   
He ran across Kalas,   
Far as we ascertain,   
Kalas left Nosferatu,   
Jazz club, St. Germaine.' 

'He's followed you, Mac.'   
'I know. He found Fitz.   
Kalas was better,'   
Mac forlornly admits.   
'Watch yourself,' cautions Joe,   
'Always do.' Mac replies.   
Joe calls Mac...'my friend.'   
Great esteem, in Mac's eyes. 

Motorcycle Race Track, Outside Paris 

Philippe's poor performance-   
Marc Saracen disdains,   
'Dornin forced me to go-   
Off the track!' he explains.   
'Even champions retire.'   
A not-too-subtle hint.   
But Phillipe stands his ground,   
Eyes steely, like flint. 

No way, he'll retire!   
Then Rich sees his chance.   
'Put _ME_ on the team.'   
(With brash arrogance.)   
Saracen sees a kid,   
He remains unimpressed-   
Till Rich grabs Phillipe's bike,   
Hits the track, for a test. 

Club Nosferatu 

Mac: 'His name is Kalas.'   
But the beefy bartender-   
Pretends ignorance-   
To the prying Highlander.   
When the club's vocalist-   
Starts a plaintive refrain-   
'Heart Come Back'... memories flood-   
Inundating Mac's brain. 

Flashback, Paris, 1920 

Mlle. Maria Campolo-   
Wants only to sing.   
At her uncle's request-   
Mac is happy to bring-   
Her to this concert-   
In the sumptuous home,   
Of a tenor, far-famed,   
From Paris to Rome. 

A chanteuse intones-   
'Heart Come Back,' sad lament,   
As MacLeod and the lady-   
Approach the event.   
The French glitterati-   
Have all gathered there.   
Soon the tenor's pure voice,   
Rich and full fills the air. 

The voice... _and the Buzz_ \-   
Come from Antonio Neri.   
Mac is stunned-it is _KALAS!!_   
From Paul's monastery!   
Mac is frozen in place,   
Not so, his coquette.   
She brazenly joins-   
Neri in a duet. 

Neri flatters them both-   
With manners impeccable.   
Mac sees through the sham-   
Of this villain despicable.   
Pointed looks are exchanged-   
Between Duncan and Kalas.   
Spoken gibes that allude-   
To the former monk's malice. 

Neri/Kalas insists-   
He will dance with Maria.   
Mac cannot refuse-   
Though he loathes the idea.   
Kalas steers her away,   
Holds her close, ever smiling.   
Mac remembers the time-   
Kalas damned him, reviling. 

'You do not know what-   
You have done...but you _WILL!_ '   
That cold-blooded threat-   
Plagues the Highlander still.   
Mac reclaims Maria,   
'It's time, we must go.'   
But, Maria has news-   
That MacLeod has to know. 

'Neri wants to arrange-   
A Paris Opera audition.'   
'You won't be around.'   
Says MacLeod, the tactician.   
'You're going to New York-   
To sing at the Met.'   
Mac must keep Maria,   
From Kalas' threat. 

Club Nosferatu, Present Day 

The torch singer ends-   
Her plea, 'Heart, Come Back.'   
'The owner's favorite song,'   
She divulges to Mac.   
'What's the owner's name?'   
That far she can't go.   
The bartender glares-   
With a look that warns, ' _No!_ ' 

'Where's your boss?' asks MacLeod   
But the barkeep gets feisty,   
Mac thrusts his head under-   
The beer tap... so icy!   
'This could run for hours,   
Till we empty the spout.'   
' _Shakespeare and Company!_ '   
The barkeep spits out. 

Shakespeare and Company, Bookstore 

Kalas growls at Don Salzer,   
A man soft and meek.   
'I don't want your books,   
Something else do I seek.   
Roger told me about you,   
I'M _Immortal_...YOU _watch,_   
You remember dear Roger,'   
Voice rising a notch. 

'The Immortal I'm seeking...   
Methos is his name.   
The oldest, most powerful-   
One in the game.'   
Salzer trembles with terror,   
Kalas inserts a knife-   
Into the man's mouth,   
'Talk, or it's your life.' 

A brief time has passed,   
Mac enters the shop.   
At first, he sees no one,   
Then a moan makes him stop.   
The man on the floor-   
Bears a Watcher tattoo,   
'I'm Duncan MacLeod,   
Who did this to you?' 

Salzer can't speak,   
Kalas did his work well,   
His tongue's been destroyed,   
He'll soon die, Mac can tell.   
Inked in his own blood,   
A message is seen,   
Two letters...M, E,   
_What can they mean?_

Race Track 

Philippe's off the team,   
Bitter, lost and forlorn,   
Former 'friend' Basil Dornin-   
Ridicules him with scorn.   
Richie Ryan, the new kid-   
Now commands the attention,   
The parties, the girls,   
Phillipe's out of contention. 

MacLeod's Car 

Mac checks in with Dawson,   
Tells Joe what he's learned.   
'Mac, this is no good.'   
Joe sounds quite concerned.   
'Salzer was a historian,   
Didn't work in the field.   
What did Kalas want?   
What has Salzer revealed?' 

'M, E,' says MacLeod,   
'Salzer wrote it in blood.'   
' _METHOS!_ ' says Joe,   
It hits home with a thud!   
'The oldest Immortal.'   
Mac scoffs, 'You're delusive!   
He's a legend, a myth.'   
Joe: 'He's real, but elusive.' 

'If Kalas finds Methos-   
And contrives to defeat him-   
He would then be so strong-   
Even _YOU_ might not beat him.'   
'Then I'll find him _first._ '   
'Mac, help wouldn't hurt,   
Go see Adam Pierson,   
He's our 'Methos' expert.' 

Motorcycle Track, After Dark 

Inside the bar-   
Fun and laughter galore,   
From outside, Rich hears-   
A motorbike's roar.   
Who would race in the dark?   
Outside they all dash,   
Watch Philippe hit a wall,   
Suicidal death crash! 

Club Nosferatu 

' _What did you tell him?_ '   
Kalas fumes, breathing hard,   
'Just the bookstore, I swear!'...   
Says this big tub of lard.   
The chicken bartender-   
Gives Kalas the eye,   
Sees him stroking his scar,   
Asks, 'Who _WAS_ that guy?' 

Kalas' Flashback, Paris, 1920 

Maria, flirtatious-   
Tells 'Neri,' 'I regret-   
I am leaving tomorrow-   
To study at the Met.   
Kalas flatters the girl,   
Feigning seduction,   
All the while he prepares-   
For the lady's destruction. 

He feels MacLeod's Buzz,   
As he throttles her neck.   
'She's _YOURS!_ Everything-   
That you care for, I'll _wreck!_ '   
Maria...unconscious-   
Misses a splendid fight.   
Swordsmen in tuxedoes-   
Present a grand sight. 

One handed, two handed,   
Skillful beginning,   
Mac's pushed through glass panes,   
Kalas seems to be winning.   
At the very last moment-   
Mac grabs a glass sliver,   
Slices through his foe's throat-   
Like a scalpel through liver. 

Kalas gags on his blood,   
What MacLeod did was sever-   
Those unique vocal cords,   
Brilliant voice, gone forever!   
Maria wakes up-   
After Kalas has fled.   
Because of Mac's skill,   
There's her whole life ahead. 

Adam Pierson's Residence, Present Day 

Mac enters to find-   
Paintings, sculptures inside.   
More like a museum-   
Than a place to reside.   
Surprise! A strong Buzz!   
That Immortal sign.   
Pierson sits, lean and lanky,   
Rather young, quite benign. 

Pierson ditches his headphones,   
Deftly chucks Mac a beer,   
Knows Mac's name and clan,   
What is going on here?   
'Me casa es su casa.'   
His grin wry, but trusting,   
' _METHOS???_ ' Mac's dazed,   
This requires some adjusting. 

Mac and Methos go strolling,   
Then Kalas, (the louse),   
Breaks in Pierson's home,   
(Is today open house?)   
Kalas needs facts on Methos-   
What he thinks, how he looks.   
He snoops into Pierson's-   
Diaries and books. 

While Kalas discovers-   
Adam Pierson's no dummy.   
Duncan and Methos-   
Are becoming quite chummy.   
Methos confides,   
It's been two hundred years-   
Since he took his last head,   
Just what MacLeod fears. 

'We will keep you alive,   
I'll stay close as can be.'   
'MacLeod, you can't fight-   
My battles for me.   
I have learned to survive-   
By using my wits.   
A myth? Or a Watcher?   
Whatever name fits.' 

Motorcycle Track 

Richie misses first place-   
By less than a hair.   
Dornin owns Number One,   
Rich had better beware.   
Dornin does Rich a favor-   
Some 'friendly' advice.   
'We're on the same team.'   
Sure. He's just being nice. 

Methos/Adam's Residence 

Methos comes home at last,   
Kalas waits patiently,   
'I was in your house,   
It enlightened me.   
Ancient Greek, hieroglyphs,   
Your journals so rare.'   
Methos sees his game's up,   
'You should have _BEEN_ there.' 

Kalas found what he sought!   
His assault's fierce, intensive.   
Methos holding his own-   
But he's on the defensive.   
A bridge! His last hope,   
He maneuvers so they-   
Topple into the river,   
Then he dives, swims away. 

Tunnel, Paris Street 

It is dark, as MacLeod-   
Walks alone, toward the barge.   
Who lurks in the gloom?   
Whose Buzz throbs so large?   
An Immortal steps out-   
Cloaked in dark grays and blacks.   
Not Kalas. It's Methos.   
MacLeod can relax. 

'Kalas found you? Is he dead?'   
' _NO!_ ' Then suddenly-   
Mild mannered Methos-   
Is MacLeod's enemy!   
Mac parries, confused.   
What could he have done?   
'Why?' Between thrusts,   
'There can be only _ONE!_ ' 

Methos, soon defeated,   
Mac's blade at his throat.   
It all was too easy-   
As if played by rote.   
' _NO!_ ' shouts MacLeod.   
' _I will not kill you!_ '   
'Why,' he asks Methos,   
'Do you _want_ me to?' 

'If _YOU_ don't kill me,   
Kalas certainly will,   
Then he will kill _you,_   
And be stronger still.   
He _cannot_ kill us both-   
If our strength we combine,   
You've the fire and passion,   
Put your power with mine.' 

Methos lifts Mac's sword arm,   
The blade's at his neck,   
Mac steadies himself,   
Keeps his feelings in check.   
'Live!' urges Methos.   
'Live and grow stronger,   
Fight another day, Highlander,   
Waver no longer.' 

The Motorcycle Track 

Richie had the race won-   
Till he messed up the turn.   
He spun off the track,   
Now he does a slow burn.   
Dornin's 'friendly' advice-   
Set him up for a fall.   
Dornin drinks his champagne,   
Richie tastes only gall. 

Adam Pierson/Methos' Residence 

'Welcome home... _METHOS!_ '   
Kalas sneers his delight.   
But, it's Mac that appears-   
Set and primed for a fight.   
'Where's Methos?' Then it dawns-   
On Kalas at last.   
The oldest Immortal-   
Is a thing of the past. 

'I will get Methos-   
When _YOUR_ head I've taken!'   
But Kalas seems anxious,   
His confidence shaken.   
'It's a bitter taste, Kalas,   
The taste of your fears.'   
Mac's advance is relentless,   
Impervious, he appears. 

They erupt through the door,   
Clashing from bridge to street,   
Psychologically, Mac's-   
Leverage is complete.   
Kalas is convinced-   
That he's battling double,   
If MacLeod absorbed Methos-   
He's really in trouble. 

But the fight's interrupted-   
By the cops' quick arrival.   
Police must not witness-   
This fight for survival.   
Both combatants concur-   
They'll postpone the contest.   
The cops came for Kalas,   
He's under arrest. 

'You killed Donald Salzer.'   
The inspector announces   
Kalas: 'You have no proof!'   
' _Wrong!_ ' Methos pounces.   
Kalas looks as if he-   
Has been hit by a truck.   
He's been suckered and conned,   
Now he feels like a shmuck. 

The van removes Kalas,   
Mac asks Methos, ' _Why?_ '   
He was anxious to see-   
Kalas finally die.   
Methos scrunches his coat,   
'It was touch and go-   
You might not have won,   
I just didn't know.' 

'Remember to live,   
Grow stronger each day.   
Someday Highlander,   
You'll have your way.'   
They part company,   
Each walk off alone.   
The most baffling Immortal-   
MacLeod's ever known. 

Methos' Residence, Later 

' _Adam Pierson is METHOS?_ '   
Sputters Joe on the phone.   
'Right in front of my nose,'   
'Joe you couldn't have known   
He's cleared out his stuff,   
Took your Chronicles, too.   
I wouldn't waste time,   
Looking-if I were you.' 

And Kalas? In jail.   
Saved by ironic fate.   
MacLeod looks around,   
Oh yes, he can wait.   
But these rooms, empty now-   
Housed a sly veteran,   
The oldest Immortal,   
Will Mac see him again? 

Peace, Emit   
© 2001-2003 

**_Under the Kilt_ from Highlander: The Official Site: **

David Abramowitz, Creative Consultant   
'Weren't we lucky to find him? We saw lots of actors and all the credit for casting Peter Wingfield goes to Bill Panzer. Bill wanted Peter Wingfield, so did I, but Bill was the first to say, 'let's go with this guy.' And there hangs the tale. I have found a wonderful actor and a good friend.' 

**Don Paonessa, Creative Consultant, Post Production**   
'Methos is Methos and Peter Wingfield was here to stay. What was interesting for me, in Post, was the fight. Because Dennis Berry had fallen behind and had this sword fight to do, they went from day to night in the sword fight when Kalas runs off, so I had to create a transition. We ended up taking storm clouds and slowing matting them in and putting lights on, so that we could take it in some sort of logical way from daytime to nighttime.' 

**Ken Gord, Producer**   
'The introduction of Peter Wingfield. Just around this time the fan base on the Internet was starting to really act up. And I, like everyone else, was intrigued by the whole idea of getting instant feedback on the Internet. And Donna Lettow used to take all the feedback and fax it to me, so I could just read it for my edification. I remember getting all this incredible, great feedback on Peter. And I walked into his trailer and read him all this stuff, telling him how all the American girls thought he was really, really sexy. He just looked at me with this incredible look of shock and amusement. It was a good moment in that he was here to stay and I think he was amused and charmed by the whole thing. I think he still is.' 

~ Take Back the Night   
  
---


End file.
